Maoris Lose in Court

Published: May 17, 1995

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 16—
New Zealand's High Court ruled against Maori protesters in a dispute over land today, saying they would have to leave a park they have been occupying.

The court ruled that Moutoa Gardens, in the North Island town of Wanganui that the Maori protesters claim as ancestral land, was legally owned by the local council. It said an injunction would be issued requiring the occupiers to leave the land.

The protesters, who are campaigning for sovereignty for the Maori minority, refused to take part in the court hearings.